Metering valve for powdered and granular materials



y 14, 1 J. L. JONES ETAL 2,792,160 METERING VALVE FOR POWDERED ANDGRANULAR MATERIALS Filed May 4. 1954 INVENTORS L/0///V 4. dwvas ly/vn/ MSrAPcA-"S aim ATTORNVEYS METERING VALVE FOR POWDERED AND GRANULARMATERIALS John L. Jones, Saginaw, Mich., and Lynn W. Staples,

Hinsdale, 11]., assignors to Sugar Beet Products Company, Saginaw,Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application May 4, 1954, Serial No.427,565

Claims. (Cl. 222-501) The present invention relates to a metering valveand more particularly to a manually operated metering valve for powderedand granular materials.

Valves of various types have been adapted to the metering of powderedand granular material, but where such valves are employed in associationwith materials having a tendency to cake they have been complexlyconstructed in order to avoid caking. In particular, where granular orpowdered soaps are dispensed, the caking problem is magnified and asubstantially trouble-free simple valve has long been sought. Ruggednessof form, in order to take constant abuse from constant usage, simplicityof construction to avoid costly maintenance, and non-caking constructionis desirable. Considerable study of washroom type dispensers and valvesin operation has disclosed that most valves are subject to a relativelyshort useful life because of the fragile character of the operatingparts and the rough treatment the valves normally sustain. The roughtreatment, or battering of the valves in use, has resulted from the factthat full containers became caked and the flow plugged. The individualusing the valve vents his frustration on the valve and the damage, ifany, is thus aggravated.

Some dispensers, using valves of the jiggling type, have tended to stickin the open position thereby losing considerable material. This isparticularly true where soap and soap substitutes constitute thematerial passing through the valve.

The cause for caking of the granular and powdered material movingthrough the valve was sought. Basical- .ly it appeared that water ormoisture on the valve caused the caking and subsequently rendered thevalves inoperable. It was not unusual for owners of such dispensers torequire soaking of a stuck valve in water until the valve became freeoperating with the dissolving of the soap cake. The water and moisturemay come from the nieddlesome dabbling of users with the containercontents of granular or powdered material. In such cases a lumpycontainer cake occurred which was troublesome but did not directlyinterfere with the operation of the valve. But valves more often thannot were frozen and subsequently damaged by water spewed upwardly fromthe hands of the operator. In industrial installations where batteriesof dispensers are positioned above washbowls an examination of thevalves indicated that somehow water was moving upward through the Valvesdespite the gravity fiow positioning of dispensers and valves. Roughestimation indicated that greater than 80 percent of hand to valvecontacts occurred when the hands of the workers were wet. A considerablenumber of workers were observed to cup their hands with water thereinprior to jiggling contact with the valve actuators.

Upon removal of the valves from the containers inspection indicatedthat, over a single working shift, most of the valves showed signs ofcaking and water penetration, not from the. container portion of thedispensers, but upwardly through the valve parts.

While jiggling valves have long been known in the dis- States PatentPatented May 14, 1957 penser art the present valve has as its principalobject the avoidance of caking resulting from water being slopped orsloshed upwardly through the valve from the hands of the user.

Another object is to simplify the construction of metering type jigglingvalves.

Another object is to provide a valve easily associated with a containeryet which can be easily removed from its container for cleaning orrepair.

Still another object is to provide a substantially durable valve capableof taking considerable abuse without damaging essential parts of thevalve and being substantially wear resistant.

Other objects and advantages of the presently specified valve willbecome increasingly apparent to those skilled in the making of dispenservalves and the users thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a valve in accord with thisinvention and showing its mounting in a cutaway conventional container.

Figure 2 is a cross section elevation taken on line Il-II of Fig. 1 andshowing the inter-relationship of structural components with the valveactuator in its normal position.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the valve body illushating the spoolguides.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a spool used in conjunction with, andadjustable upon, the annularly grooved actuator shank.

Figure 5 is an elevation view of the valve actuator.

Figure 6 is a fragmental cross section view of the shank end of theactuator taken on line VI--Vl of Fig. 5 and showing the spring seat.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the assembled metering valve.

Figure 8, consisting of three parts, 8a, 8b, and 8c, is a schematiccross section elevation showing a full use cycle of the metering valve.

General description Referring generally to the metering valve structurea metering valve 11 for powdered and granular material is inserted forgravity delivery in the base of a container 12. Insertion in thecontainer 12 is accomplished by means of an adaptor ring 13 press-fittedinto an opening in the container 12. The valve body 14 is threaded intothe adaptor ring 13 and the entire valve assembly 11 may be removed fromthe container by unscrewing the valve body 14 from the adaptor ring 13.An axial opening 15 runs through the valve body 14 and is peripherallyprovided with a frusto-conical valve type seat 16. A valve actuator 17having an annularly grooved shank 18 is insertable through the opening15 and is provided with an enlarged frusto-conical portion 19, adjacentand below the cylindrical shank 1S, and which is matingly engageablewith the seat 16. A spool 20. having an axial passage 21, is freelyfitted over the actuator shank 18 and adjustably retained by keepers 22seated in the annular grooves 23 of the shank 18. The flanges 24 of thespool 20 provide guided reciprocation of the spool 20 on the valve axisA-A, being positioned by the cylindrical space defined by thev innerfaces of the guideposts 25. The guideposts 25 extend from and areintegral with the valve body 1 Particular description Referring moreparticularly to the drawing, a metering valve 11 is threadably insertedin a container 12. By reason of the fact that gravity flow of thegranular or powdered material 26 is intended, the positioning of thevalve 11 is normally in the bottom of the container 12. When the valve11 is spring loaded it is conceivable that other positioning may beused. It wil be seen, as the description proceeds, that the springloading of the valve 11 is contemplated although in normal usage gravityoperation is satisfactory. Attachment to the container 12 isaccomplished by means of an adaptor ring 13 which is press fitted intothe container 12, the ring 13 being internally threaded and having anannular bevel 13a tapered downward toward the center of the ring 13. Thetaper 13a is adapted to the contour of various containers 12 and ingeneral an angle of between 20 degrees and 45 degrees is recommended.

The valve body 14 is provided with an external extension mating fiushwith the outside diameter of the adaptor ring 13 and is provided withmale threads 14a on a thread shoulder for threadable engagement in thering 13 as best illustrated in Fig. 2. A cylindrical opening 15 isprovided through the valve body 14. At the lower terminal end of theopening 15 the opening 15 is flared to provide a peripherallyfrusto-conical valve seat 16. A beve.ed edge cylindrical countersink 27is provided concentric with tl e opening 15 in the lower face of thevalve body 14. An annular outwardly flared shoulder 28 is provided inthe upper end of the opening 15 which con stitutes a continuousextension of the cylindrical taper 13a in the adaptor ring 13 when thevalve 11 is mounted in the container 12.

A valve actuator 17 (Fig. consisting of a slenderly tapering and roundedlower portion expanding gradually to mate with a reversedly taperedfrusto-conical upper portion 19 and including a solid cylindrical shank18 is insertable through the opening 15, the frusto-conical portion 19mating with the valve seat 16 and obstructing further passage upwardlyof the shank 18. It will be seen that the portion 19 thus shrouds theopening 15 in the valve 11 while the valve 11 is in use. The shankportion 18 of the actuator 17 is provided with regularly spaced annulargrooves 23. The purpose of the grooves 23 will become increasinglyapparent as the description proceeds. A spool 20 having an axial pasage21 therethrough and having flanges 24 at either end is free fitted overthe shank 18. Keepers 22 are fitted circumferentially in the grooves 23of the shank 18 above and below the spool 20 and thereby serve asretainers preventing axial movement of the spool 20 on the shank 18unless adjustment of spool position is desired.

From the valve body 14 are upwardly extended integrally formedguideposts 25. A plurality (three are illustrated best in Fig. 3) ofguideposts 25 are provided, the the internal faces 25a of which are arcsconformed to a diameter permitting free running clearance of the flanges24 of the spool 20. In this manner the entire actuator assembly, asshown in Fig. 2, may be reciprocated while being simply held on thevalve axis A-A by reason of the guideposts 25 caging the spool 20. Thealteration of the positioning of the spool 29 on the shank 18 is easilyaccomplished by repositioning of the keepers 22 in the annular grooves23. The variation in spool positioning will be seen to vary the strokeof the actuator 17 and consequently vary or adjustably meter the flow ofpowdered or granulated material 26 delivered in any cycle of operation.In Fig. 6 a cross section of the upper terminal end of the actuatorshank 18 is shown to reveal the recess 29, therein provided, if itshould be desirable or necessary to utilize a spring return actuation ofthe valve 11. While a spring has not been illustrated it will be readilyappreciated that a spring, as indicated, urging the valve actu ator 17downwardly by pressure on the shank 18 so as to apply a force greaterthan gravity to the closure of the spool flange 24 against the shoulder28, is contemplated as a modification within the spirit of thisinvention. The use of tensional or compressional means are equallycontemplated in this regard.

While it is not intended to restrict the materials from which the valvestructure 11 is made, metal parts have proved the most satisfactory fromboth economic and operational viewpoints. The valves constructed frommetal can be cheaply cast and more rigid tolerances are obtained whichare not upset under rugged usage and wear. Excellent corrosionresistance was obtained using a chromium plate upon finished parts ofbrass or diecast metal. Plastics have been used with excellent resultsbut are less durable under heavy usage. A combination of metal andplastic has given encouraging results where the valve body 14 was madepartly or wholly of plastic material and the valve actuator 17 and spool20 were metal.

Some advantage is obtained by the greater specific gravity of the metalactuator 17 and spool 20 where gravity closure applications arecontemplated. This advantage can be overcome where plastic actuators 17are used simply by adding spring actuation units for closure.

Operation In operation the valve 11 is inserted into the base of acontainer 12 and the container 12 is filled with granular or powderedmaterial 26, for example, soap. As schematically indicated in Fig. 8,part 8a the weight of the actuator 17 and attached spool 20 seats thelower flange 24 of the spool 20 against the tapering shoulder 28 thuspositively colsing the opening 15 and preventing the escape of thepowdered or granular contents 26. In part 8a of Fig. 8 there isillustrated the upward movement of the actuator 17 and consequent upwardmovement of the spool 20 from the shoulder 28 with the beveled orexpanded conical portion 19 of the actuator 17 closing against the valveseat 16. This permits the filling of the space between the uppermostposition of the spool 20 and the valve seat 16 with powdered or granularmaterial 26. Release of the actuator 17, as shown in part of Fig. 8,causes the discharge of the granular or powdered material 26 as gravityor spring pressure returns the actuator 17 and spool 20 to the normalposition. It will be observed that the position of the spool 20 on theshank 18 determines the amount of granular or powdered material 26trapped for discharge and that the spool 20 can be repositioned in orderto meter the amount of powdered granular material 26 delivered by merelyremoving the keepers 22 and repositioning the spool 20 by clipping thekeepers 22 in appropriate holding grooves 23 on the shank 18. 7 It willbe further noted that the enlarged portion 19 of the actuator 17 shroudsthe opening 15'and that the valve seat 16 and lower portion of the valvebody 14 is so arranged that upwardly splashed water is not admitted tothe container 12. Since water is not able to splashingly penetrateeither the valve or container from the bottom, caking is substantiallyeliminated and a trouble-free valve is provided.

Having thus described a specific embodiment of the invention it will beunderstood that certain modifications are intended to fall within thespirit of the invention restricted only by the tenor of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a metering valve for powdered and granular materials, thecombination including: an adaptor ring being threaded on its inner faceand press fitted into an opening provided in a container; a threadablyremovable valve body positioned in said adaptor ring; a valve actuatorhaving a shank portion axially through said valve body and having anexpanded portion in mating frusto-conical relation with a seat providedin said valve body; a spool having flange portions on either endvariably and axially positioned on the shank portion of said actuator; ashoulder in said valve body against which the lower flange of said spoolseats defining an annular opening the inner diameter of which is theshank of said actuator and the outer diameter of which is the openingthrough said valve body; and a plurality of guideposts extendingppwardly from said valve body permitting reciprocation of said spool,the inner surface of said guideposts being arcs on a diameter concentricwith the shank of said actuator and said spool.

2. In a metering valve for powdered and granular materials, thecombination including: an adaptor ring being threaded on its inner faceand having its upper surface conically tapered inwardly and beingcapable of press fitting into the bottom of a container; a threadablyremovable valve body being positioned in said adaptor ring and having anopening therethrough on its central axis; a valve actuator having ashank portion of smaller diameter than the opening in said valve bodyand axially through the opening in said valve body and having anexpanded portion in frusto-conical relation with a seat provided at thelower end of the opening in said valve body; a spool having flangedportions on either end variably and axially positioned on the shank ofsaid actuator; a tapered shoulder in said valve body being acontinuation of the conically tapered surface of said adaptor ring andagainst which the lower flange of said spool seats closing an annularopening the inner diameter of which is the shank of said actuator, andthe outer diameter of which is the opening through said valve body; aplurality of guideposts extending upwardly from said valve body theinner surfaces of which are arcs of a diameter concentric with the shankof said actuator and said spool caging said spool against lateralmovement while permitting reciprocation of said actuator; and meansurging said spool into normally closed position against said shoulder.

3. In a metering valve for powdered and granular materials as in claim2, said means comprising a spring urging said spool against saidshoulder.

4. In a metering valve for powdered and granular materials, thecombination including: an adaptor ring being threaded on its inner faceand press fitted into an opening provided in a container; a threadablyremovable valve body positioned in said adaptor ring; a valve actuatorhaving a shank portion extending axially through said valve body andhaving an expanded portion integral with said shank portion external ofsaid valve body in mating frusto-conical relation with an exterior seatprovided in said valve body, said shank portion of said actuator havinga series of grooves therearound near both the extreme end thereof andthe expanded portion thereof and a pair of substantially U-shaped springmembers insertable therein to position therebetween a spool; a spoolhaving flange portions on either end variably axially positioned on theshank portion of said actuator above said expanded portion between saidpair of U-shaped members; a shoulder in said valve body against whichthe lower flange of said spool seats defining an annular opening theinner diameter of which is the shank of said actuator and the outerdiameter of which is the opening through the said valve body; and aplurality of guideposts extending upwardly from said valve bodypermitting reciprocation of said spool, the inner surface of saidguideposts being arcs on a diameter concentric with the shank of saidactuator and said spool.

5 In a metering valve for powdered and granular ma terials having asingle valve member, a valve body into which said valve member seats,the combination including: an adaptor ring threaded on its inner faceand press fitted into an opening provided in a container; a threadablyremovable valve body positioned in said adaptor ring having a pluralityof guide posts extending upwardly from said valve body; a valve actuatorhaving a shank portion extending axially through said valve body andhaving an expanded portion integral with said shank portion external ofsaid valve body in mating frusto-conical relation with an exterior seatprovided in said valve body, said shank portion of said actuator havinga series of grooves therearound near both the extreme end thereof andthe expanded portion thereof and a pair of substantially U-shaped springmembers insertable therein to position therebetween a spool; a spoolhaving flange portions on either end variably axially positioned on theshank portion of said actuator above said expanded portion; and ashoulder in said valve body against which the lower flange of said spoolseats defining an annular opening the inner diameter of which is theshank of said actuator and the outer diameter of which is the openingthrough the said valve body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS427,165 Fickett May 6, 1890 647,362 Beck Apr. 10, 1900 1,305,476 McCordJune 3, 1919 1,525,828 Reeve Feb. 10, 1925 1,988,865 Campbell Ian. 22,1935 2,054,881 Saunders Sept. 22, 1936

